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Democrats defy Obama on Iran

A bipartisan group of senators is preparing to defy the White House by introducing new Iran sanctions legislation as early as Thursday that would increase pressure on Iran if it fails to meet its obligations under the interim deal signed last month.

Democrats broke with President Obama on Thursday by joining Republicans to introduce new strengthened Iran sanctions legislation that the White House says may jeopardize negotiations to curtail Iran's nuclear work.

The Senate bill introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., would require further reductions in Iranian oil sales and additional penalties to the Iranian economy.

"The American people rightfully distrust Iran's true intentions and they deserve an insurance policy to defend against Iranian deception during negotiations," Kirk said.

The bill was co-sponsored by 13 Democrats and 13 Republicans. The House of Representatives already passed similar legislation in July.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said passing the legislation would undermine U.S. diplomacy with Iran.

"Now is not the time to pass new legislation in Congress," Carney said. "If Iran does not comply with the interim agreement or agree to a more comprehensive agreement in six months, we are confident we can come back to Congress and pass additional sanctions at that time."

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters the legislation, if it's passed, would violate the terms of the interim deal negotiated with Iran on Nov. 24, threaten the international coalition involved in those ongoing talks and risk the collapse of the talks altogether.

"We don't believe we should be taking this unnecessary risk for something that can be done overnight if we get to it eventually," Harf said

Menendez said his legislation would help White House aims.

"Current sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table and a credible threat of future sanctions will require Iran to cooperate and act in good faith at the negotiating table," Menendez said.

The White House called the interim agreement a "first step" to buy time while seeking a final agreement that ensures Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. It offers Iran sanctions relief worth several billion dollars, while requiring it to limit some of its nuclear activities.

The top co-sponsors of the bill did not say why they disagree with the White House's approach. Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who has testified before Congress in favor of tougher sanctions, says there's frustration on Capitol Hill over recent comments by Iranian officials that any deal must allow Iran to keep producing higher-grade nuclear fuel in certain cases.

Dubowitz says Congress is concerned that the interim deal does not address Iran's work on the military aspect of its nuclear program, including design and testing of warheads, ballistic missiles and nuclear triggers.

"Iran gets six more months to do all those things to perfect the nuclear military side of their program and we gain one more month of breakout capacity," he said, referring to the time it takes for enriched uranium to be converted into fuel for an atomic bomb.

According to the interim deal, Iran is to stop producing nuclear fuel that is close to weapons-grade and to convert or dilute its stockpile to a form that requires another step to turn into a bomb.

Iran may continue to produce lower-grade nuclear fuel, leaving it with a stockpile that can be converted to bomb fuel if it chose to violate the terms of the deal. That is what North Korea did in producing nuclear fuel for two recent test explosions.

Iranian negotiators wrangling in Vienna with world powers on how to implement the deal walked out on the talks last week after the U.S. Treasury blacklisted 19 additional Iranian companies in connection to sanctions that are already in force. The talks resumed Thursday.

The White House has been lobbying Congress to hold off on new sanctions legislation as world powers seek a comprehensive deal on Iran's nuclear program that the United States suspects is designed to build an atomic bomb, and that Iran insists is for peaceful purposes.

According to a Senate draft of the bill under consideration, it requires the United States to impose additional sanctions if Iran fails to abide by the interim agreement, does not negotiate in good faith or engages in terrorism against the United States or its citizens. The bill also stipulates that sanctions will increase if Iran tests any ballistic missile with a range of 300 miles or more.

The bill would require the president to seek the dismantling of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including fuel-production facilities, its heavy water reactor under construction in Arak, "and any nuclear weapon and production components." And it would require Iran to answer all questions of the United Nations nuclear watchdog related to the military component of its nuclear program.

Colin Kahl, a former Iran policy adviser and deputy assistant secretary of Defense in the Obama administration, said many of the results called for in the draft legislation are unattainable.

"Congress is wanting the administration to deliver something that is impossible," Kahl said. "There is not a single Iran expert on planet Earth that believes Iran will agree to give up nuclear enrichment."